Kodiak: Characteristics of the Support Sector Economy

Abstract

We compare the support sector of the Kodiak economy to other similarly sized markets in Alaska using employment and sales receipt information available from the state and federal governments. The employment analysis suggests that Kodiak may be underserved, particularly in certain service sectors. In contrast the sales receipt information suggests that the support sector of the Kodiak economy is comparable with similarly sized markets in Alaska. This analysis uses Central Place Theory to understand why the number and variety of businesses varies among communities. In this study we compare the trade and service activities in different Alaska communities using a variety of measures of both activity levels and market size.